The Big Motion and HBCU Show powered by IMG x UPS celebrated the work of three emerging Black designers at Spring Studios. BIG MOTION: AN HBCU RUNWAY SHOW is part of UPS’s commitment to empowering and elevating Black fashion talent. Working with HBCU institutions, which are known for cultivating Black excellence and developing the next generation of entrepreneurs, UPS is committed to fueling these diverse owned businesses by providing the funding and resources they need to thrive.
Three female owned brands-The Brand Label, Chelsea Grays and Undra Celeste New York- each presented their collections to impressive guests, such as Solange Franklin, Sergio Hudson, and Lala Anthony. Opening the show was The BRAND Label by duo Shaq and Nola, who named their collection Evolution. They launched in 2018 and wanted to showcase how much their brand has evolved over the years. This collection represents growth and was inspired by the BRAND woman and her journey throughout life. “We wanted to design garments that allowed her to celebrate every phase and moment of her life as she evolves, because she is the MOMENT.”
Shaq and Nola met at Virginia State University in 2005. They instantly connected through their love of fashion and personal style. Speaking to Shaq and Nola backstage, the designers noted: “Working as a duo is amazing. You always have someone in your corner, someone to bounce ideas off of, brainstorm with; and to cry with and succeed with – you never feel like you’re alone.”
Of the brand’s beginnings they commented, “We felt the world needed to see designs from black, strong, powerful, educated women. We knew we had the creativity to share with people, to put on women to make them feel good, to give them confidence and make them feel celebratory no matter what season of life they’re in.”
Following The BRAND Label’s collection was Chelsea Grays, a luxury streetwear brand that emerged in 2018 with a powerful mission: to inspire positive change in the world through fashion, art, and activism. Entitled Streets Lights, this is Chelsea Grays’ fourth collection but also the launch of her womenswear collection, providing shoppers with a new means of representing the fashion brand through the inclusion of women-centered apparel and styles.
Inspired by the designer’s childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, the owner and founder, Chelsea Grays, associated Street Lights with a time in her youth when street lights played a vital role in signaling the end of playtime. The young designer explains, “The idea is wherever you are in life you have a place to go that is home.” The theme stresses the importance of community on one’s identity, despite the influence of distance and time.
Closing the show was Undra Duncan founder and creative director of Undra Celeste New York with her New Era collection. It is inspired by the evolution of womanhood and how now, more than ever, women have to be strong and fight for their place in the world – “It’s the clothes we all want to wear to this fight.” This is a new era for the designer as she elevates and steps into a clearer vision and stronger DNA.
Undra Celeste is a modern workwear brand for multicultural women, the perfect mix of professional dressing and statement dressing invoking confidence and an unapologetic presence. Undra started her fashion journey at the tender age of 7 in Brooklyn, and graduated from Howard University where she started her 20 year career in corporate design and product development.
For the show, each designer debuted their latest collections which all shared a similar theme, a continuation and evolution of the designer’s previously shown pieces.
